History, Opinions, Imaginings

Top Ten Worst Packer Backup Quarterbacks

10. Billy Stevens – taken in the third round of the 1968 draft, Stevens completed one of five passes in two years in Green Bay.

9. Steve Pisarkiewicz – a former first round flop of the Cardinals, Steve completed two of five passes in a one game appearance for Green Bay in 1980 to conclude his NFL career.

8. Bobby Douglass – the one-time Bear starter, a running back playing quarterback, finished his career in Green Bay in 1978 completing 5 of 12 passes, just shy of his career 43% completion percentage.

7. Bill Troup – a veteran backup with the Colts, Troup ended his career in Green Bay in 1980 by completing four of 12 passes and throwing three interceptions.

6. Brian Dowling – BD from the Doonesbury comic strip threw the final two passes of his career for Green Bay in 1977 before returning to the funny papers.

5. Bobby Garrett – the overall top draft pick in 1954 by Cleveland, Garrett was dealt to the Packers as soon as Paul Brown determined that Garrett’s stuttering would not allow him to call Paul’s plays. Garrett completed 15 of 30 passes as Tobin Rote’s backup in 1954, spent two years in the military and then was traded back to Cleveland in 1957, but never played in the NFL again.

4. Graham Harrell – a record-setting passer at Texas Tech, Harrell was undrafted, but signed with Green Bay in 2010 after a stint in Canada. He was on the Packers’ active roster in 2011-12 as Aaron Rodgers’ backup but thankfully was not called upon often. In his first appearance on September 30, 2012, Harrell came in for one snap in the red zone. He tried to hand off to Cedric Benson, but was tripped by his center, resulting in a fumbled hand off and a lost fumble. Harrell appeared in three more games that year and completed two of four passes lifetime.

3. T. J. Rubley – briefly a starter on the Rams in 1993, Rubley joined the Packers in 1995 and appeared in one game against the Vikings when both Brett Favre and Ty Detmer were injured. The Packers and Vikings were tied 24-24 with less than a minute to go, and the Packers had the ball on the Minnesota 38-yard line. On 3rd and 1, Coach Mike Holmgren called for a quarterback sneak. However, Rubley audibled to a pass play that was picked off by former Packer Jeff Brady to give Minnesota the chance to kick the winning field goal.

2. Rich Campbell – with the sixth overall pick in the 1981 draft, the Packers’ draft room was divided between USC cornerback Ronnie Lott from USC and California’s Rich Campbell. Bart Starr chose Campbell in a stunningly bad move. The rag-armed Campbell never started a game in four years in Green Bay, completing just 31 of 68 passes for three touchdowns and nine interceptions. Lott is in the Hall of Fame.

1. Tom O’Malley – picked up in the week before the start of the season from Cleveland, O’Malley was thrust into the opener against the Lions when rookie starter Tobin Rote was injured. O’Malley completed four of 15 passes for 31 yards and six interceptions. Although he never again appeared in an NFL game, he did spend three years in Canadian football.